Anyone with an inkling of common sense knows that bribery is a crime, because nobody deserves to get an extra penny for doing the bare minimum. However, most parts of India has made it a norm to the point that taking bribes is being glorified in mainstream cinema.
Thankfully, not all countries are like us. Singapore has recently made an example out of two forklift drivers for taking a measly bribe of S$1 (which amounts to Rs. 52.73).
According to BBC, two forklift drivers were caught for allegedly taking S$1 (Rs. 52.73) bribes in order to delay the loading and unloading of vehicles.
The men in question are Chen Ziliang (47) and Zhao Yucun (43), and they had allegedly committed the crime while working for Cogent Container Depot. So, now they face two options. One, paying a fine of S$100,000 (Rs. 52,69,870). Or two, spending five years in jail.
Now, this might sound a bit odd to us but not in Singapore, which has a reputation for being one of the world’s least corrupt countries. Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said in a statement that,
“Even if the bribe amount is as low as $1, they can be taken to task. Bribes of any amount or any kind will not be tolerated.”
Reports from Channel News Asia showed that this wasn’t Ziliang and Yucun’s first tango. In fact, they were charged for receiving similar bribes earlier, but it’s only this time that they’re being treated strictly.
On May 2016 and March 2018, Chen was found taking bribes of S$1 from truck drivers for not delaying the collection or return of containers from their vehicles. On the other hand, Zhao committed his offence between September 2014 and March 2018, for the same duty that Chen promised to do.
It’s not a ‘smart’ thing to fool/hoodwink someone for a job that you’ve signed up for. Instead, it’s laudable if you do your job properly and contribute towards making your society a corruption-free place. And if you don’t agree with that fact, get ready to take in that jail ki hawa sooner or later.